Khaled Al-Darandali, Vice President of the Egyptian Football Association, confirmed that Mohamed Salah, captain of the first team, will continue with the Pharaohs in the coming period, denying the possibility of his international retirement.
Salah is a role model for players
Khaled Al-Darandali said in statements to Al-Nahar channel: "Mohamed Salah will continue with the national team, and he cannot be dispensed with, as he is a true leader and a role model inside and outside the team, and what he presented in the recent matches is the best evidence of his value".
He added: "Salah has delivered an outstanding performance and has always posed a threat to the opponents' defense, as they had to mark him with more than one player, so he is indispensable within the national team".
Renewal for Hossam Hassan
Regarding the renewal for Hossam Hassan, the head coach of the Egypt national team, Al-Darandali explained that an agreement had been reached during a meeting with Hani Abu Rida, President of the Egyptian Football Association, in the United States of America.
He continued: "Hossam Hassan had no specific conditions for renewing his contract, and after the final agreement on the renewal, he will personally decide on selecting his technical staff if he wishes to make any changes".
He added: "Hossam Hassan has delivered what we aspired to and spared no effort in achieving the aspirations of the Egyptian fans; in fact, he achieved more than was expected of him. We have an ambitious plan to develop Egyptian football, and we have already begun implementing it".
He went on: "We are currently working on monitoring all Egyptian professional players abroad by preparing a database that includes their records, ages, and nationalities to ensure the readiness of any player eligible to represent the national team and benefit from him in the future".
He continued: "We have reached a stage we do not want to retreat from, after becoming among the best teams in the world, and therefore our goal now is to maintain this level and then advance to further stages".
The Pharaohs' participation in the World Cup
Regarding Egypt's participation in the World Cup, he said: "We achieved more than we expected in this tournament and even exceeded the fans' expectations, which raised the ceiling of ambitions. I believe what has been achieved is a real accomplishment, and this generation deserves to be built upon in the coming stage".
He added: "The players gave everything they had and performed their duties to the fullest. As for the injustice we faced, that is another story. From my point of view, I feel as if we left the tournament from the semifinals and not from the round of 16, because the path was paved for us to continue the journey".
He continued: "This generation deserves to be the foundation upon which we build in preparation for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations and the next World Cup as well, and I am confident that what is coming will be better, God willing".
Khaled Al-Darandali concluded his statements by saying: "We will not stop at what has been achieved, because this is a long-term and ambitious plan, and our responsibility has become greater after the Egyptian people have witnessed the level the national team has reached and now view it as one of the strong teams".
